Awning supporting plate and adjustable wall bracket



Nov. 30, 1954 E. P. -D'AZZO 2,695,763

AWNING SUPPORTING PLATE AND ADJUSTABLE WALL BRACKET Filed May 10, 1950 I INVENTOR. ERROL P D A220 United States Patent This invention relates to new and useful improvements in awnings such as used" at store fronts'and like places and of the kind wherein forraisingand lowering the awning sheet, by unwinding said sheet from or rewinding' it on a drum or roller, expansib'le and retractable folding arms are mounted one near each' of the opposite ends of such drum or roller.

A type of folding arm thus: used is one which. includes a plurality"of'longitudinal sections pivotally interconnected; with at least one of the sections telescopically coupled with another adjacent to. the pivotal connection between sections. Such an arm has become known in the art as a tubulateral awning arm.

The improvements of the present invention, while important in various. awning structures, are particularly valuable in connection with the erection of" awnings of the kind including tubulateral awning arms the outer extremities of which are connected to the front edge of the awning sheet; for overcoming troubles heretofore experienced in properly finally setting in position a pair of often widely spaced wall brackets, on the front of the building, and at. points below the axis of rotation of said drum or rollen each such bracket. for affording a pivotal mounting for the building adjacent or inner end of a different one of; the said arms.

One of the objectsof the present invention is to provide a novel plate support which is substantially uniplanar except thatits rear face is roughened for gripping the adjacent surface and. its front face is provided, with protruding members for adjustably' locating an awning bracket support.

The cardinal object of the invention is to provide a novel and valuable combination of a pair of brackets and a pair of plate-like bracket supports, whereby, following permanent securement of said supports to the building, and a rough preliminary adjustment of each bracket relative to its support, the final operation of effecting. a correctionary' adjustment, as to either or both of said brackets relative to its support, is practicably had, thereby expeditiously and precisely to align horizontally the axis. of the pivotal mounting of the inner end of one arm with the axis of the pivotal" mounting of the inner end" or the other arm.

For further comprehension of the. invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will. be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which the various. novel features of the invention are more particularly set? forth. In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is partially a sectional view taken vetrically through a structure which may be assumed to be the upper portion of a store front, and partially a side elevational view of a bracket pursuant to the invention.

Fig. 2 is a view showing face elevationally said bracket and its aforesaid plate-like support, with the building structure fragmentarily shown.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail section, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a similar view, but with this taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of said plate-like support and of a backing member therefor, the latter part of said building structure; this view, taken as looking about in the direction of the arrow 5 of Fig. 2, showing certain elements carried by said support in outward projection therefrom.

2,695,763 Patented Nov. 30, 1954 "ice Fig. 6 is a rear elevational view of said plate-likeusupport;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged. detail section, taken 011: the line 7--7 of Fig. 6.

Fig; 8 is. a further such section, thistaken on the. line 8-8 of Fig. 7".

Fig; 9: illustratesthe bracket. in perspective, but: also in section as to a part-.thereof, such section taken substanrtially pursuant tothe line: 9'9 of Fig. 3.

Referring nowto theudrawings in more: detail, the structure assumed as abovetobe an upperportionof. a store front is, asto its: major part, this indicated in. dot and dash lines, designated 15;. At 16 is indicated: the aforesaid backing member, which maybe one ofthe. sill type, of wood or some other material; said.- member extending all the way across the store front.

The bracket illustrated, as a whole designated 17",. is one of two brackets which are exactly alike. except-that one is made to the one hand and the other tothezoppositc hand, so that the like portions of the two brackets for pivotally mounting the inner ends of the awning arms will face each other on completing the awning installation. In'the case of the bracket 17, the portion 18 thereof is for pivotally mounting the inner end of an awning arm.

Said bracket portion 18 is carried at the outer end of an. integral extension 19 from a substantiallly triangular base plate 20. This plate 20 near its top. has a circular aperture 21, and therebelow, a pair of spaced and symmetrically arranged like arcuate slots 22;

The bracket 17; further, is recessed forwardly, from the back fiat surface of the plate 20, through said plate, and into the root port-ion of" the extension 19, toprovide a chamber 23" which is vertically elongated with parallel long vertical sides.

Of' the aforesaid two like plate-Iike supports, each provided for use with one of the two brackets, the support for the bracket 17 is designated 24;the same being a rectangular metal plate which is substantially uniplanar except that desirably its rear face is roughened as for instance indicated at 25 in Fig. 6, and except that upstanding from the front of the plate is a vertically elongated lug or shoe 26', and except, further; that three like specially shaped apertures 27 go through the plate andfour like circular apertures 27 also go through the plate, these last near the four corners of the plate.

The shoe 26 is for fitting in the chamber 23, shown in Fig. 3, with some play in the latter resulting; from: the fact that the. thickness of the shoe is less than the width of the said chamber; while each of said apertures 27 is of the special shape shown in Figs. 7 and 8, that is, having a rear conical subdivision 27 and completed by aforward polygonal subdivision 27', as one of square crosssectional area as shown;

Three like bolts 28 areprovided, each having a. threaded shank and each having a head made; carriage-bolt fashion, that is, including a low-height but rather large diametered conical head 28*, this for being received fully into the conical subdivision 27 of an aperture 27, and alsoincluding, between the head 28* and the shank of the bolt, an intermediate keying portion 28* square in crosssectionto fit fully into the subdivision 27 of said aperture 27. In connection with each of the three bolts 28, there are also provided a nut 29 and a washer 30'.

The three bolts 28 are of suchlength; that when they have been" at their heads seated in, and at their shanks projected forwardly from, the plate-like support 24, their shank lengths are such as shown in Fig. 5 that when the upper bolt 28 has been sent through the aperture 21 and the two lower bolts have been sent through the two lower apertures 22, the nuts 29 may be applied, this incidental to an earlier operation below detailed, and, incidental to a later operation also below detailed, both the nuts and the washers 30 may be applied.

The four circular apertures 27 near the four corners of the plate 24 are for preparatorily solidly anchoring said plate at a suitable point along the backing member 16 or analogous structure; by means of four bolts 31 and their nuts 32 as shown. This permanent securement of the plate 24 is done after setting in the plate the three bolts 28. Thus when the plate is anchored, assisted in ingto the bolts 28 carried by the other support.

such anchorage by the roughenings 25 at the back of .the plate, and the nuts 32 are tightened up, the arrange- The support 24 and the other like such support having been bolted to the backing member 16 or the like, the bracket 17.is hung on the support 24, by passing the shanks of'.the three bolts 28 through the apertures 21 and 22, and the other bracketis similarly hung on the other support. Now the shoe 26 is housed in the chamber 1 23, and at the other preparatory assembly of support and bracket the same 'situationis established.

- As each bracket isthus hung on and fitted .to its said ,support,'in the case of the bracket 17 the nuts 29 are applied to the bolts 28, and, in the case of the other bracket, similar nuts are applied to the bolts correspond- None of these nuts, however, is as yet tightened up to an extent .to prevent easy swinging of the bracket 17 about the horizontal axis central to its aperture 21, or to prevent similar swinging of the other bracket. I

Next, the inner end of one of the two awning arms having been brought couplably adjacent to the portion 18 of the bracket 17, and the inner end of the other of said arms having been thus arranged relative to the other Ibracket, incidental to erection of all parts of the awning above the two brackets and inclusive of the awning sheet, the final adjustment of one or both of the brackets, thereby "perfectly mounting the inner ends of said arms on the brackets, is quickly and easily performed, by the use of said set-screws until the axes of pivoting of the inner ends of the-two awning arms are precisely horizontally aligned. As will be noted in connection with the bracket 17, the inner end of'either of said set-screws (these the set-screws 33 and 34 of said bracket) may be advanced to bear against the adjacent side of the associated shoe .26, thereby to swing the bracket in one direction or the other about the uppermost bolt 28; after which the other set-screw may be advanced to clamp the bracket immovably as thus angularly adjusted.

The final step is to proceed, in the case of each bracket, in the way now to be described in connection with the bracket 17. The nuts 29 are removed from the two lower bolts 28; then the washers 30 are applied to said bolts, and then said .nuts are reapplied and fully tightened up. As for the nut on the uppermost bolt 28, this nut may be now finally tightened up; or, as shown, said nut may be removed, then a washer 30 added, and then said nut may be reapplied and fully tightened up.

While I have illustrated and describedthe preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise construction herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is: 1. In an awning structure having a flat support for attachment to a wall and a bracket having a flat plate engaged against the front face of said support and a forwardly extended arm to the front end of which an awning arm is to be pivotally attached, means mounting the bracket on the fiat support for slight lateral adjustment of its forwardly extending arm, said mounting means comprising a fixedly mountedbolt extended forextended arm arcuate slots arranged concentric with said hole, fixedly mounted bolts extended forward from the flat support and extended through said slots so that the bracket will have freedom of pivotal movement about said first-mentioned bolt, and nuts threaded onto the front ends of said bolts to be tightened against the front face of the flat plate to secure the bracket in a desired pivoted position on the flat support, a vertically elongated lug extended forward from the flat support in end alignment with the forwardly extended arm, the bracket having a recess extended forward from the rear face of the flat plate and part way into the rear end of the forwardly extended arm, said lug being extended into said recess and being of a thickness less than the width of said recess so that the bracket can be pivoted relative to the flat support and the lug in the loosened condition of the nuts, and screw means on the forwardly extended arm engaging said lug for holding the bracket in the desired pivoted position while the nuts are being retightened.

2. In an awning structure having a flat support for attachment to a. wall and a bracket having a flat plate engaged against the front face of said support and a forwardly extended arm to the front end of which an awning arm is to be pivotally attached, means mounting the bracket on' the flat support for slight lateral adjustment of its forwardly extending arm, said mounting means comprising a fixedly mounted bolt extended forward from the flat'support, the flat plate having a'hole above the forwardly extended arm and through which said bolt freely extends to act as a pivot for the bracket, the fiat plate having on opposite sides of the forwardly extended arm arcuate slots arranged concentric with said hole, fixedly mounted bolts extended forward from the fiat support and extended through said slots so that the bracket will have freedom of pivotal movement about said first-mentioned bolt, and nuts threaded onto the front ends of said bolts to be tightened against the front face of the flat plate to secure the bracket, in a desired pivoted position on the flat support, a vertically elongated integral lug extended forward from the flat support in end alignment with the forwardly extended arm, the bracket having a recess extended forward from the rear face of the flat plate and part way into the rear end of the forwardly extended arm, said lug being extended into said recess and being of a thickness less than the width of said recess so that the bracket can be pivoted relative to the flat support and the lug in the loosened condition ofthe nuts, and means on the forwardly extended arm engaging said lug for holding the bracket in the desired pivoted position while the nuts are being retightened, said holding means comprising set screws threaded into said recess from opposite sides of the forwardly extending arm and hearing at their inner ends against opposite sides of said lug.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,211,352 Rathburn Jan. 2, 1917 1,682,693 Day Aug. 28, 1928 1,732,489 Uckotter Oct. 22, 1929 1,811,104 Anton June 23, 1931 1,922,764 Heiser Aug. 15, 1933 2,596,658 DAzzo May 13, 1952 

